Daddy
by wilsonstories
Summary: Another Will and Sonny one-shot, this time including an eight year old Ari. Hope you all like it. Characters belong to DOOL.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone... in this story Gabi went to New York ALONE, years ago. Ari is eight and lives with Will and Sonny in Salem.**

**Will's POV**

(...Present...)

"Daddy..."

"Yes honey..."

Ari is comfortably sitting in my lap, with her head resting on my shoulder. She is still slightly sniffing from all the emotions of today and I try to comfort her by softly stroking her little back. Before she continues talking she lifts up her head and her blue eyes, identical to mine, look up at me.

"Do you remember when Sonny bought Lisa for me?"

I smile at the memory. Sonny was very busy at the club for a few weeks, barely seeing Ari during that time, or me for that matter. And when things slowed down he came home one day with a new doll, which Ari called Lisa, and instantly became her favourite.

"I do, honey... you love that doll, don't you."

She nods her head frantically, and continues her road down memory lane:

"And do you remember when he tried to make me a birthday cake, and we ended up eating just the icing because the rest was just gross?"

"I do remember that... he tried really hard you know..."

"I know..."

She puts her head back on my shoulder and her little hand curls around the zipper of my jacket.

"He has to be OK daddy, he just has to be OK..."

I hug her close, trying to be strong for both of us:

"He will be sweetie... he will be fine..."

(...Two hours earlier...)

"Will?"

"Speaking..."

"Hi this is Cameron..."

"Hi, what's up..."

I put my phone on speaker so I can put it in front of me while continuing to fold the laundry that I just took out of the tumble dryer.

"Will, are you alone or..."

"Yeah I'm at home, Ari's at school and Sonny's at the club... why..."

"OK... I need you to take a deep breath and stay calm..."

Suddenly I am alarmed and I frown while I pick the phone up and hold it closer to my face.

"What is going on Cameron...?"

"Something happened at the club... Someone went crazy and he started to hit Sonny... People got him away but then Sonny was already unconscious."

I feel how the air is pushed out of me and I sit down on the couch because my legs suddenly feel wobbly.

"Will..."

I try to answer but it takes me a while to find my voice. My heart is pounding and I can't think clearly because fear is taking control of me.

"Will... are you still there..."

"Yeah..."

"OK, he has a brain haemorrhage and due to the size of it he went into surgery about ten minutes ago... You said you were home, so I am going to call your mum and she will come and pick you up, OK? And I will also call Adrienne..."

"OK."

I don't know what else to say or do, so I just sit there on the couch for what must be half an hour, until I hear a knock on the door and I hear my mother's high voice:

"Will... open the door."

I stand up and walk to door, feeling like a robot. The moment I see her I feel her arms around me and I hug her tight while I feel slightly comforted by her presence.

"Let's go to the hospital honey..."

"OK... what about Ari... she is still in school for another hour..."

"Let's get you to the hospital and get an update and then I will pick her up and we hopefully can give her good news."

I nod, glad that my mum is immediately taking control, because right now I have no strength left to do anything but worry about Sonny. While we are in the car I close my eyes and vividly remember how he kissed me this morning. Just before he went out the door he pulled me close and kissed me firmly after whispering a soft 'I love you'. Then he held the door open for Ari because he was giving her a ride to school.

"Mum..."

"Yes honey..."

"I love him so much."

"I know honey... he will be fine... I know he will."

The moment we walk out of the elevator towards the nurses' station I catch Maxine's eye. She immediately comes up to me and gives me one her comforting hugs. She explains softly how they took Sonny into surgery, how dr. Smith is one of the best brain surgeons around, and how Sonny is going to be fine. I smile softly and sigh:

"He better be OK."

(...Present...)

So now here we are , in the waiting room of the hospital. Ari is sitting in my lap and my mum, Adrienne and Justin are trying to keep up a random conversation. But we are all worried, and so far we have not yet had any updates. So I just listen to my sweet daughter babbling away:

"Daddy..."

"Hmmm?"

"What is Sonny?"

"What do you mean honey?"

"When I go to Janet's house she has a mummy and a daddy. And my mummy is in New York and I see sometimes. And you are my daddy... so what is Sonny?"

I swallow and suddenly realise how everyone is listening to our conversation. I look at Justin and Adrienne and smile before I sit Ari up so I can look at her:

"What do you think Sonny is honey..."

Her big blue eyes are locked onto mine and I get the feeling she is a bit hesitant with her answer.

"You won't get mad at me?"

"Of course I won't Ari?"

"...In my head I call him daddy too..."

For moment I just sit there, staring into the bright blue in front of me. Then I just pull her close and whisper over and over again:

"I love you... I love you..."

For a while she lets me hug her and then she gets fed up and pulls her way to freedom:

"Daddy... let me go..."

I smile at her and let go of my tight grip. She gets of my lap and sits down at the small round table full with children's toys, unaware of my ongoing emotions. Adrienne, who is sitting two chairs away from me reaches over to grab my hand. She squeezes it tight and I look at her with tears in my eyes, whispering:

"She has no idea... she just made a mess of me..."

"And me..."

We laugh and I shake my head while looking at my little girl while she is concentrating on her colouring.

(... One day later...)

"Did you bring my drawing?"

"Yes I did sweetie... I've got it right here..."

Ari is pulling at my hand while I tell her where to go. Because Sonny was in surgery late yesterday, we decided for Ari to go home with my mum while I stayed with Sonny's parents and waited for him to wake up. The moment he opened his sweet brown eyes and he flashed me his beautiful smile I knew he was alright, and finally I was able to relax. And now I am taking our little girl to see him, and I have never seen her this impatient.

"Come on daddy, walk faster... are we almost there?"

"We are almost there... it is the door with eight on it..."

"Oh I see it... I see it..."

She pushes the door open and I just stand in the door opening to watch while the two most important people in my life hold each other in a big bear hug. She climbs on the bed and throws her small arms around his neck, while he pulls her in his lap and holds her close to his chest. Soon she is jumping up and down while holding on to him as tight as she can:

"You're OK... You're OK..."

"I sure am honey... what is that you are holding..."

"I made a drawing for you, daddy..."

Sonny and I look at each other and I see the confusion in his chocolate eyes, so I decide to help him a little bit.

"She made you a drawing babe..."

He looks at me and back at Ari who is holding the drawing up so he can see. She immediately starts explaining the drawing to him, unaware what that little word just did to her daddies:

"See... this is me, and this is daddy and this is you... and you two are holding hands because you always do that..."

She makes a face while saying that, but I can't help but smile:

"She is right, we do do that..."

Sonny still seems slightly in another world so I lean over and kiss his cheek:

"You OK honey?"

He nods while looking at me, emotions painted on his handsome face. He takes the drawing from her reaching hands and smiles softly at her:

"That is perfect sweet pea...thank you."

She smiles and then puts on her serious face while her hand softly strokes his forehead:

"Daddy said you hurt your head... is it OK now?"

"It is fine now... the doctors fixed it..."

"Good... cause I didn't like it yesterday...I was scared, and daddy was too..."

He pulls her close and kisses her forehead:

"I'm fine again, don't worry, OK? Now, you go and find Maxine because she said she could get you some apple juice..."

Moments later she walks out the door, looking for Maxine, and we are together. He stretches out his hand so he can pull me towards him while tugging on my scarf. I lean in and kiss him softly on his lips.

"She was right you know... I was scared yesterday."

"I'm fine baby."

I pick the drawing up from his lap and hang it on his board, knowing what he is going to talk about next.

"I know it probably means nothing, but did you hear..."

I don't even let him finish:

"It means something baby..."

His brown eyes look at me, showing a fear to hope for something he is afraid he can't have. I sit down on the side of his bed and take his hand in mine while I say:

"It definitely means something..."

"Maybe it was just a mistake."

I shake my head and smile fondly while I cup his beautiful face with my hands:

"Shhh, it wasn't... you should have seen her yesterday, she was so worried about you... so I promise you that she called you daddy today because she wanted to."

The emotions in his eyes make them even more intense than normal and I smile while I use one of my thumbs to stroke his bottom lip:

"Now, did I tell you today how handsome I think you are..."

(... A week later...)

"What do you think about that, Ari?"

Her cute serious face shows us she is thinking about it and I feel I am holding my breath. She looks at me and then at Justin, who smiles at her like a proud grandfather does.

"I would like that..."

Her smile is sweet and I take in a sharp breath while I grab her little hand in mine:

"You know what this means Ari... right?"

"Yes... it means that I now have two daddies... for real..."

I nod and smile at Justin who seems slightly emotional while he listens to her summary of what we just tried to explain to her. I look at my daughter and continue:

"Ari... we have to keep this a secret OK? Just until Wednesday because then it is Sonny's birthday and this is his present..."

"Daddy..."

"Yeah."

"No... you said Sonny, but now it is Daddy... Daddy's birthday."

"Right, I'm sorry... but let's keep it a secret... can you do that..."

"OK, but I get to tell him... with breakfast..."

I am happy to agree to that and stand up to shake Justin's hand. Instead he pulls me in for a fatherly hug and says:

"I'll make sure you have the papers Tuesday evening, so he can sign them Wednesday... at breakfast..."

(... Sonny's birthday...)

The sun comes up early and I find myself waking up at 5.30 am. I try to move but realise I am covered in a human blanket. Sonny is draped over me and his steady breathing tells me he is still asleep. I lock my arms around his waist and enjoy the warm snugly feeling of being so close to him. Unconsciously I softly stroke his naked back with my fingertips and after a while he stirs. While he wakes up he rolls next to me, where he nestles himself against my side, resting his head on my chest.

"Morning gorgeous..."

"Morning birthday boy..."

I feel him smile against my skin and I just pull him a little bit closer. He sighs contently while he drapes one leg over me so I am pinned to the bed. We hear a door open and we both know it is Ari. Suddenly I remember how she asked me to make breakfast for Sonny this morning, so I whisper quickly:

"Pretend you're asleep babe... don't ruin it. "

Our bedroom door opens just a little bit and we hear her soft whispering voice:

"Daddy... daddy wake up..."

Sonny pretends to be asleep while he stirs and rolls away from me so I can actually get up. On my tippy toes I walk out of the room while Ari keeps whispering:

"Be quiet daddy, you are going to wake him up..."

Moments later we are making toast and Ari insists on hot chocolate. While we are working on the perfect breakfast she suddenly asks:

"I can tell him... right dad?"

"You definitely can tell him... I am just going to get the papers he can sign..."

"Daddy?

"Yes honey?"

"I told my teacher at school because I was so happy... and I told her about these papers and we made this together..."

In her little hand she is holding a pen with a little ribbon around it. I smile softly and take the pen so I can put it on top of the papers. Then I lean over and kiss her in her hair:

"You are my sweet baby girl..."

"OK... we're ready..."

I pick up the tray and gesture with my head for Ari to pick up the papers and the wrapped pen. Together we walk to the bedroom and without hesitation Ari opens the door and starts singing 'happy birthday'. I join in and smile at Sonny who seems to have fallen asleep again and is now trying to wake up as quick as he can. His perfect dark hair is pointing into all directions and his blue shirt makes him even more gorgeous. Ari jumps on the bed while we finish our song, and Sonny slowly sits up against the headboard.

"You guys made me breakfast?"

"We did... and this..."

She suddenly seems a bit unsure of how to do this so she just hands him the papers and the pen, while her big blue eyes are transfixed on his face.

"That's a lovely pen honey... thank you..."

"No... not the pen..."

Her little finger points at the papers while she sits down next to him so she can lean into him. I put down the tray and sit down opposite Sonny so I can see his face while he reads the papers. I have never seen him like this, he looks like he wants to cry, laugh and scream at the same time. He reads it again, and again, and again, while the papers make a soft ruffling noise from his shaking hands. I just sit there and look at him, completely in love with the man that makes me happy every single minute of the day. From the first time I shook his hand, until this very morning he has been there for me. And I know this is the one thing he really wants, but also the one thing he thought he could never really have. Ari is the one to break the silence:

"Aren't you happy?"

I suddenly see how scared she looks and luckily Sonny comes back to his senses. He lifts her up and puts her in his lap, while the papers slide to the side. A tear falls down his cheek, but he doesn't even take the time to wipe it away:

"Happy? Sweet pea... I am more than just happy..."

"Really?"

"I promise..."

He sticks out his picky and they picky swear with serious faces while I try to keep myself together. Sonny's face becomes all kinds of soft when he leans towards her and asks:

"Are you sure you want this too, honey? Do you want me to be your daddy...?"

She frowns while she answers:

"Of course I do... and you already are my daddy, but now it's for real... now I can always call you daddy..."

I lean forward and hold up the papers and the pen:

"You have to sign though..."

He flashes me the most beautiful smile and then he grabs the papers and quickly signs them all. Then he hands them back to me and kisses Ari on her cheek:

"I love you honey... Now let's have a look at that breakfast..."

And after we all have had enough to eat, Ari leaves to play with her dolls. After she left I crawl over to Sonny and curl up against his side. His arms curl around me and I sigh deeply:

"I am so happy..."

I feel his lips in my hair and when he whispers I know he is all emotional:

"I love you Will, and I love little Ari... thank you, thank you so much..."

I look up and softly wipe a lonely tear away from his cheek:

"No baby, thank you... thank you for making us a family..."

We kiss softly and tenderly, and I let my hands go through his hair while his hand rests on my hip. The phone rings and before we can get up to pick it up, we hear Ari speaking, and her one-sided conversation with who-ever is on the line makes us the two happiest man in the planet:

"Hello..."

"Yes... me and daddy made him breakfast..."

"He did like it..."

"Of course we gave him a present..."

"We gave him papers that makes him my daddy, so now I have two daddy's."

"I know... but if they're both in the same room I can call him daddy Sonny or something..."

"Thanks... bye."

And before we know it she walks back into our room and while she walks over to Sonny and kisses his cheek she says:

"Daddy, that was grammy Sami and she said to give you a happy birthday kiss."

"Thank you."

Then she leans over and kisses his cheek again and then she leans towards me to kiss mine. And while she walks away she says:

"I love you, daddies..."

**Thank you for reading... I look forward to hear what you think of it...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ari is fifteen and living with her two dads, Will and Sonny. **

**Will's POV**

"Arianna Grace, you are grounded for a week and you have to hand in your phone for a week."

Arianna just brought home a rapport card and it does not look good. We already knew she was easily distracted by friends, shopping and boys, but this rapport card tells us loud and clear we need to put our foot down. Sonny's brown eyes are darker than usual and his voice carries the held in frustration, while Arianna pretends not to care about anything. He continues sharply:

"And you better be studying young lady, because we know you can do better than this."

He waves the rapport card in the air while he speaks, and I see how Ari slowly lifts her blue eyes to him. People already warned us that teenage children suddenly change from sweet angels into people who drive you to your wits end, and right know I understand what they tried to explain. Her eyes remind me of my mother's and I cannot explain to anyone how scary that is to me. While she stares daggers at Sonny she shouts loud and clear before storming off to her room and locking the door:

"You are not my father, I don't have to listen to you..."

The air in the room is thick and heavy, while I see the rapid changes taking a hold of the man standing a few feet away from me, the person who makes me complete and happy every single minute of every day. I see how the initial frustration when he was speaking to Ari changes into utter defeat and sadness, while her words seems to numb him completely. I am not sure what to do as his body radiates a hurt that I cannot even fully understand. As if a fear he hid for all these years, suddenly became reality. A fear that I don't have, because I am her dad and she will always be my daughter. But despite their amazing relationship over the years, and Sonny adopting Ari when she was just a young girl, he is not her biological father and for the first time ever she used that against him.

"Sonny..."

I reach out and grab his shoulder to squeeze it, hoping it would show him I am here for him. And for the first time in our relationship he shakes his shoulders in a way that tells me not to touch him. I let go, unsure of what to do. But before I can do anything he walks past me, but before I hear the door fall shut behind him I hear his voice deep with sadness:

"I'm sorry..."

I look at the two closed doors, the outside door through which Sonny just left and the closed door of Ari's bedroom. I wish there was a handbook which would give me five steps in how to make this better, but unfortunately I have to figure this out on my own. I walk over to the kitchen and fill a plate with chocolate chip cookies and then I knock on Ari's door. It remains quiet so I knock again while talking to the closed door:

"Ari, I think we need to talk... open the door honey..."

When I knock for a third time I hear the door unlock. I push it open and see how Ari just falls back on her bed, hugging her pillow while tears have wet her pretty little face.

"Sit up Ari..."

She sits up against the headboard and I find myself a place at the end of her bed, placing the plate with cookies between us. She sniffs heavily, and when I look at her teary blue eyes I realise she is more sad and hurt than anything else. So I push the cookies aside, sit down next to her and pull her close to my chest. While I stroke her dark hair, I let her cry for a while. When she calms down I ask:

"What happened honey...?"

She shrugs her shoulders and I shake my head:

"No Ari, I came here because we need to talk... about the rapport card, and about what you just said before you walked away from us...So... let's start with the rapport card..."

She sighs and chews on her bottom lip for a while before she says softly:

"I just... all my friends just like shopping, and going to the movies... you know. And I want to go along, but then I don't have time to study enough... some of my friends just get good grades and they don't do anything for it... but I do have to study if I want good grades... but I also want to spent time with my friends..."

Her sniffing makes is hard for me not to just squeeze her against me and tell her everything will be alright. Instead I decide to go for some real advice:

"Honey... I am sure there is a way you can do both... find a balance, you know? Go out in the weekends, but study during the week, in the evenings... or something... we think it is important that you do well in school... and you are such a smart girl..."

She smiles a very small quivery smile and nods her head:

"OK dad."

"OK honey... now the rest... why did you say that to Sonny..."

This time I have to wait much longer for an answer because she immediately starts to cry again. Eventually I lift her chin and say:

"Talk to me sweetie, why did you say that to him..."

She whispers, with a voice thick of emotion:

"I don't even know... he looked so disappointed and angry... and I felt horrible...and I just said what came into my mind... I don't want him to look at me like that daddy... I want him... and you... to be proud of me. But... but you are my dad and nothing will change that. No matter how bad my rapport card is or whatever... but he adopted me... you know..."

I listen quietly and suddenly I realise that the two people I love most in the world are sad right now because they feel they have to earn each others love.

"Honey... do you love Sonny... are you still happy he adopted you?"

"Yes..."

Her answer is without hesitation, and is said in such a deep heartfelt tone that I feel a thump in my heart. I hug her close and smile:

"Good."

We just sit there for a while and when her crying and sniffing has stopped and she finally reaches out to have a cookie, she suddenly starts to talk about her favourite memories with Sonny. And every word she says tells me how much he means to her. First she starts talking about the day he officially adopted her, while signing the adoption papers during his birthday breakfast in bed, after he came home from the hospital. But before she can move on to the second memory I pull my phone out of my pocket and say:

"I am going to text Sonny... he left after..."

"He did?"

He big blue eyes are all shades of guilty and I just nod my head:

"Yeah honey..."

"He must hate me now..."

"No sweetie, he loves you so much... that's the reason he left... those words... those words hurt him honey and I think you have to apologize to him when he comes home."

She sits there quietly and wordlessly nods her agreement, while she bites her bottom lip to not tear up again. I quickly write a text message and sent it, hoping he will respond soon:

'Come home honey... we miss you.'

**Sonny's POV**

"You are not my father. I don't have to listen to you..."

It feels as though someone is squeezing my throat and I am running out of oxygen. Everything suddenly seems to move in slow motion and I just stand there while she goes to her room. Will's voice sounds far away and when his hand touches me I shake him off, not able to let anything or anyone comfort me. This is my worst fear, the one fear I have never mentioned to Will. The one fear I wanted to push away, because the thought of it coming true would be too much to bear. And in this fear, I feel I stand alone because Will never has to worry for her to say it to him. Then I feel the concern radiating from my sweet partner and I suddenly want to leave before I do things I regret. Before I close the door behind me I have to let him know I am sorry. And then I am gone and I am just walking, not realising where I am going. The wind is cold, making my nose and my hands tingle. Slowly the oxygen seems to return to me, while I breath in the cold air. But my brain remains this tumbling machine, repeating the words over and over again: You are not my father, not my father, not my father...

"Hi Sonny..."

With a shock I look up, straight into the concerned eyes of Will's grandmother Marlena. She smiles and as always I see how her eyes shine with the same sweetness and kindness as Will's do. I can't really smile but repeat her greeting while focussing my eyes on her hands, hoping she won't notice I am a mess:

"Hi... Mrs Evans..."

We just stand there for a while and when I finally realise we have been quiet for a while my eyes find hers, and her knowing smile tells me I am an open book to her. She points to the building next to us:

"Care to come in for a cup of coffee?"

My eyes follow her pointing finger and I see we are standing right outside her house and I nod my agreement. Ten minutes later we are sitting in her living room with a cup of coffee and I look around, remembering how Will told me about the conversations he had in here with his grandmother. I take a deep breath and say softly:

"I'm sorry you see me like this..."

"Like what..."

"Like I'm a mess..."

Our eyes meet again and the calmness and kindness in hers makes me want to open up, so I do. I tell her about the rapport card, the fight and those stinging words that are still stabbing me, hurting me more and more every minute. When I am all talked out, she takes a deep breath:

"I see..."

I look at her expectantly, as if she can provide the explanation of Ari's outburst as well as the solution. But after a while she shakes her head:

"I am so sorry this happened Sonny... and I understand that this is hurting... and you have every right to be hurt... but I also think you have to go home and finish that conversation..."

I bow my head, knowing she is right. She continues while reaching out to hold my hand:

"And I know you are scared that, when you go home, what she said will be underlined instead of crossed out... that she won't take it back... but the only way to deal with it is to face it."

I nod while holding her hand in a tight grip. Then my phone rings to let me know I have a message:

'Come home honey... we miss you.'

I read it out loud to Marlena, who smiles and stands up:

"I think I am not the only one who thinks you have to continue the conversation."

I stand up and hug her close before I walk out to go home. While she gives me a sweet grandmotherly hug I whisper in her ear:

"I understand completely why Will loves you so much..."

Then I am on my way home, trying to straighten out my thoughts before I have to face the two most important people in my life. I try to come up with things I want to say, but I am not sure. I know my confidence is gone since the moment she said those words, and only she can give me my confidence back. When I softly open the front door I walk into an empty living room. Ari's bedroom door is slightly opened and I hear voices coming from her room. Just before I want to push the door open, I hear her soft voice say my name, and I wait for a moment to hear her talk to Will:

"I never told you this dad... but remember when you had you appendix taken out and you had to stay at the hospital for a night? I think it was about a year after he officially adopted me... and I was so worried about you. And I was crying all the time and he tried everything to cheer me up. But the only time I felt better was when he finally pulled me in his lap and held me close for a long time, telling me stories about you and about the both of you. I always feel so safe when he is with me, dad..."

"Me too honey... and he is very protective of the both of us..."

"Yeah, I know... daddy?"

"Hmmm."

"What can I say to him... after what I said earlier..."

"Just say what is in your heart sweetie... that is all he needs to hear."

I take a deep breath and push the door open. When I am standing in front of the bed I look at both of them shyly and I softly say:

"Hi..."

"Hi baby, I'm glad your home."

Will stands up from the bed and gives me a big hug and I whisper to him while my breath warms his ear:

"I'm sorry I pulled away earlier... I'm so sorry."

He pulls back and shakes his head:

"I love you."

I smile, realising how much I need to hear him say that. But I also know I need one more person to say it, so I turn to Ari while Will takes a step back to lean on Ari's desk. Before I can say anything she is up and her arms are clinging around my neck while she is crying uncontrollably against my chest. I hold her close and stroke her back, not realising I am chewing on my bottom lip. After a while I pull back and lift up her chin so she has to look at me. Her voice in unsteady but every word she says is perfect to me:

"I'm sorry daddy, I... I was wrong... you are my father and I love you so very very much..."

I kiss her forehead and smile:

"I love you too honey... so much it sometimes hurts a bit."

She nods and says:

"I know... me too..."

I gesture to Will to come over and join in the group hug and when he does he kisses Ari's cheek and then mine before he says:

"Me too."

(...)

After all the emotions of the day we just had our pizza's, and now we are spending the evening together watching some TV. Ari is really tired and almost asleep on the couch, so Will shakes her awake to say:

"I think you should go to bed..."

She yawns and slowly gets herself off the couch. She leans over to give Will a sweet hug and kiss:

"Goodnight daddy... and I promise I will get my grades up..."

Then she walks over to me and I get my hug and my kiss, and then she says:

"Goodnight daddy... I know you said all is forgiven but I want to say one more time that I am so sorry for what I said today..."

"I know honey... thank you."

While she walks to her bedroom I look at Will, who is slowly standing up from his chair. He walks over to me so he can pull me up from the couch. He leads me towards the music player and I smile when a sweet song plays softly through our living room. His arms slide around my neck, and mine curve around his waist. His pulls me flush against him and his lips softly brush my neck. I sigh contently, leaning my head a bit more to the side so he has more access. It is a slow song and we are barely moving, but the feeling of being in his arms while he is caressing my body makes this living room my personal heaven. My heart starts pounding when he softly sings along with the music:

"When I come home, I'm gonna be the man who's coming home to you."

His lips find my skin and suck a bruise before softly licking the sting away. His hands are in my hair and I feel the butterflies in my stomach when I feel how skilfully he makes a mess of it in a way only he knows I like it. While he sings along with the music again I have to use every strength I have to let him finish his sentence:

"And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream about the times when I'm with you."

And then I find his lips with mine, demanding entrance immediately, whimpering when the warmth of his mouth clouds my mind. When we let go we both try to make up from the oxygen we are missing and then his voice is deep and husky in my ear:

"Let's go to bed..."

I let him lead me to the bedroom where I let him undress me. And after he has quickly shed his clothes, we are completely entangled on our bed. His determination makes me weak and the way he shows his love tonight will make me lose myself entirely. And just before I do I hear him sing once more:

"And when I wake up, I'm gonna be the one who wakes up next to you..."

**Song is by the proclaimers: I'm gonna be (500 miles). Hope you this second chapter! Please review and let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**As some commented that the second chapter was very sad, here is one to cheer you up... I hope... Ari is 19 years old.**

**Arianna's POV**

I stare at the white screen in front of me. My English professor asked the whole class to write a short essay of less than a thousand words about believing in yourself. I can't hold back a sigh, while I reach for another chocolate chip cookie, considering to ring my dad for some writing advice. But without speaking to him I know he will just say to write what is in my heart, so I close my eyes and try to figure out what exactly is in my heart when it comes to self believe. I don't understand why the professor chooses a topic like this. What happened to writing about the most important people in your life, or where you see yourself in twenty years, or you childhood. I could have been finished if I could write about that, but writing about believing in myself gives me a major writers block. My phone beeps and I read a text message:

'Hi pumpkin, just to say we think about you and we miss you.'

I smile, when I receive a second message with a picture of my dad Sonny waving at me from a comfortable stretched out position on the couch. And after I receive a second picture of my dad Will waving at me, I hit reply:

'Miss you too, love you.'

And while I look at the pictures again, I suddenly know what to write. Within an hour I am finished and uploading the file onto the universities online assignment hand in program. When I receive my essay back three days later, it shows a bright A+ on the front, and I immediately text both my dads with the good news:

'I just got an A+ for an essay on believing in myself.'

And of course they respond quickly, both requesting to read the essay. Even though I hesitate for a while, I eventually decide to sent it, feeling slightly nervous for their reactions.

**Will's POV**

"Hi honey."

I pull Sonny close for a welcome home kiss and then I let him go to finish our dinner. He walks over to my laptop and asks

"Do I have time to check my email before dinner is finished?"

"Sure, go ahead."

While I stir the spaghetti sauce, I enjoy the comfortable silence between us. We don't always have to speak when we are together. Just being together is enough for me to be completely happy.

"Did you see this..."

I turn around and raise my eyebrows:

"What..."

"Ari... she sent us her essay..."

I walk over to stand behind him to see for myself:

"Wow, can you print it off, I can't wait to read that."

Sonny prints it off and I put two plates with spaghetti in the oven so I it will stay warm. Then we find ourselves snuggling up on the couch, while we start reading our daughter's essay with fatherly pride.

**Believing in myself**

When I heard I had to write an essay about self belief I was not sure what to write. I hoped for a topic such as 'my childhood memories', 'where I see myself in twenty years', or 'what does love mean to you'. I have enough ideas to write several essays on that, but unfortunately I had to let them go to focus on 'believing in myself''.

In my opinion believing in yourself has a lot to do with self esteem, self worth, and self love. And although it seems like something you have to do for yourself, I'd like to explain to you in this essay how that is not necessarily true. Let me tell you about what grew my self esteem, what made me believe I was worthy, and how I learned to love myself. And by doing so I am going to reach back into those million ideas about childhood and love I mentioned above, as I think they will paint a picture to the point I am trying to make.

I grew up in a family most people will call unconventional. My mother lives in New York and I see her a few times a year. She is married to a guy named Peter, but I barely know him. My mum is sweet, and I love her, but I don't think we have a mother-daughter relationship like others seem to have. I don't tell her much about myself, and our conversations do not go beyond shopping, clothes, and make-up. But I never missed anything because I also have two dads, who raised me and took care of me from the moment I was born. If they would read this my dad Sonny would probably say that HE took care of me from the moment I was born, and that my dad Will was nowhere to be found at that time. But we all know he is just teasing, even though strictly speaking he is right, as he was the one who helped my mum during the delivery. Anyway, my two dads and I were a real family, and I can honestly say that they were, and still are, my home.

From as long as I can remember they have been there for me. When I was about eight years old they were on the front row cheering me on, while I was Maria in the nativity play at school. When I was ten they let me take ballet lessons, and they never missed a recital. Every rapport card I brought home was reason for a family celebration and a big group hug so they could whisper in my ear how proud they were of me. Except for one terrible rapport card which let to me being grounded, but that is a whole other story. When I graduated high school they framed my diploma to hang it in the middle of the living room. When I was accepted into university they told the whole family before I could, just because they were so happy and proud. When I mentioned I wanted to be a doctor like great grandma Marlena , they said I could. When I changed my mind to becoming a lawyer like grandpa Justin, they immediately gave their support. When I decided I wanted to be a photographer they bought me my first camera. And when I finally made the decision to become a journalist they hugged me and promised to buy every journal I will contribute to. They always showed me I was good enough. They always said they were proud of me. They never doubted my abilities and talents.

To grow up like that is an enormous privilege, and it gives tremendous strength. Earlier I mentioned self esteem, self worth and self love as essential parts of self believe, and all my life I have been given the opportunity to understand these concepts so I can apply them to myself. No matter what I do, no matter where I go, they are always behind me. They believe in me, ever since the moment I was born until now while I am writing this essay.

So when you ask me to write about self believe there is only one thing I can say about it: I believe in myself because they showed me every day how to do that. By believing in me, they have taught me to do the same.

(...)

Sonny's arm is around my shoulders and our heads are leaning against each other. We have already read the essay three times, and we still have not said a word. We just sit there in silence, trying to find the words to express the feeling in our hearts. Sonny is the first one to speak:

"That is..."

He doesn't even finish his sentence and I just whisper:

"I know..."

I lift my head so I can look into his eyes and I smile at him:

"Thank you..."

He raises his eyebrows and I give him a soft peck on his lips before I explain myself:

"You made us a family, you took care of her as your own, you showed her how to believe in herself... and you also showed me how to believe in myself... when we met I was a mess... you know that... and you... you made me strong... so thank you..."

His eyes show the emotions, but his smile is radiant and just for me:

"Thank you..."

This time I raise my eyebrows while I return his smile. He nods and explains:

"I waited a year for you because I needed you in my life to make it complete. You and Ari are my life... and I love you two more than anything...you made me part of a family... so thank you."

My lips find his to kiss him sweet and tender, and I cannot resist to let my hands go through his thick black hair. When we let go he reaches for his phone, but I grab his hand and shake my head:

"I have a better idea..."

"OK... you want to Skype?"

I shake my head again:

"Can you take a few days off?"

"I suppose I can, T is asking for extra hours so I am sure he is happy to fill in for me... why..."

"Let's surprise her tomorrow and take her to dinner... We can leave tomorrow, have dinner together and then we can stay at a hotel, and drive back the next day..."

Before I know it he is kissing me and I hear his whisper on my lips:

"Sounds perfect..."

I stand up and look through some papers until I find a phone number of a friend at university. Ari once gave us this number if there was an emergency and we could not contact here for any reason. We decide that this is an emergency and then we ring the friend to ask her to make sure Ari is not making any plans for tomorrow night. When I put down the phone I look at Sonny, and his smile tells me he has some plans of his own. I am more than happy to let him act on those plans, so when he walks over to me and starts unbuttoning my shirt I just enjoy the feeling. And when his hands are on my chest I don't hesitate to let nature take over.

(...)

We drove for four hours but we just arrived on campus. Together we remember the route to Ari's dorm and after we parked the car in the next street, we walk up to her front door. I feel the familiar grip of Sonny's fingers around mine and I squeeze slightly. Then I ring the door bell and we hear a voice shout:

"Ari, can you get that?"

We hear footsteps on the stairs and then the door opens and our baby girl is standing in the doorway. Here blue eyes open wide and she says:

"Dads?"

And then she seems to realise it is definitely us and the throws her arms around our necks and we hug it out in a big group hug. We both kiss her cheek and I hear Sonny's whisper:

"We are so proud of you."

I cannot help but smile when I remember how Ari wrote about that in her essay. She has happy tears in her eyes while she smiles at the both of us.

"You two are actually here..."

I nod and say:

"We are... we thought you deserved a big surprise after an essay like that... so get your stuff, we are taking you out to dinner."

Moments later she walks out and closes the door behind her, immediately putting her arms through ours. Her voice is shy when she asks:

"So you liked the essay..."

"It was OK...", Sonny teases, after which he continues:

"And you were right... I am the only one who looked after you since the moment you were born."

Ari leans over to kiss him on his cheek while mockingly thanking him, and then she looks at me and whispers loud enough for Sonny to hear:

"Don't worry, you are my favourite daddy."

We laugh, remembering the million times we did this, and then I squeeze her arm against me and say:

"Honey, that essay was beautiful... and you should know that we will never ever stop believing in you."

We walk passed a small restaurant and we decide to go inside to have our dinner. Sonny and I enjoy the happiness coming from our daughter while she goes over the menu trying to decide what to order. Eventually she decides on three dishes she would like to have and before we get a chance she orders her three dishes of choice. After the waiter left she just smiles sweetly:

"Don't worry, you'll like it... and now we can all share and taste all three."

I look at Sonny and shake my head:

"I think it is your fault she turned out this bossy..."

Sonny shrugs his shoulders and returns:

"It's not like your daddy skills exceed mine in any way..."

"No, but you are just as bossy... she does not have that from me..."

Sonny looks at me with a big smile and says confidently:

"You need me to be bossy sometimes..."

I shake my head, but smile at him knowing he is right. It is part of the reason why I love him and he obviously knows it.

Ari voice is clear and sweet when she says to Sonny:

"I like it that I do things like you... just like I am happy to take after daddy."

I smile:

"And there are several things you do like Sonny... you hide in the shower when you are sad, you put your face in your hands when you are worried, you're bossy, and you eat chocolate chip cookies when you need to think..."

The both smile while a light blush cover their cheeks. And I just grin happily, knowing that I just made their day better. Sonny takes a deep breath and says:

"OK, true... but she also does things the same you do them... she uses her blue eyes to get what she wants, she can be a bit insecure at times, and she can give people second and third chances when most people would have given up..."

This time I blush and Sonny reached over to kiss me softly. I look at Ari to start her usual 'don't do that in public please', but she just smiles at us and says:

"I love you two."

We enjoy our family conversation, moving quickly between serious and teasing. We move our plates around so we all taste everything and Ari decides she made a good choice when ordering the three dishes. And then we have to say goodbye. We do our familiar group hug and listen to her whisper:

"This was the best surprise ever..."

And then she runs inside and we walk back to our car. Before I can open the door I feel how Sonny turns me around in his arms. My hands fold around his neck and we just stare at each other for a while. Then he softly says:

"William Horton... I believe in you."

I know I am blushing again, and I stumble:

"I believe... I believe in you too."

His thumbs softly stroke my hips while he continues, while he looks deep into my eyes:

"And we did a good job raising our baby girl."

I nod, wishing I was better with words and able to actually say something worthy. But he smiles slightly while he says:

"Don't worry honey, I can read it in your eyes, you don't have to say anything..."

I feel the butterflies in my stomach when he says that, knowing he understands me without me saying anything. But before he kisses me I just have to say one thing:

"Babe... I believe in us..."

**I hope this cheered you all up a bit after the second sad chapter!**


End file.
